Swansea Hope Night Shelter

Swansea Hope Night Shelter - Thanks

The Swansea Hope Night Shelter for the Homeless closed on Wedn-sday 28th March.

Despite its slow start, with no guests for the first few days, the Shelter helped to take over two dozen rough sleepers off the streets of Swansea. The majority o our them were also helped to find accommodation of their own.

The Night Shelter has been running for six years and works in parnership with the City Council, police, local agencies and homeless charities.

The idea is a simple and effective one Seven Churches across the city open up their buildings for one night a week and a huge team of volunteers help to provide a warm welcome, a hot meal and breakfast, a comfortable bed and a safe place to spend the night.

The Shelter opened on Tuesday evenings in All Saints' Churchrooms and was run by three teams working in shifts. There was the 6pm-1 Opm evening shift, when we shared a meal [usually shepherd's pie]. This was followed by the overnight shift from 10pm to 6am. The last shift covered breakfast fro ii 6am to 8.30pm.

A third of our volunteers were from All Saints' and Norton. Once again we were joined by helpers from Liansamlet, Sketty, Llwynderw and Newton parishes and from Our Lady Star of the Sea Church. Some of our volunteers doubled up during March to help run the Monday Shelter at St Stephen's, Port Tennant.

We thank all those who volunteered to help again this year. This important ministry of outreach to those on the margins of our society makes such a difference. The local homeless nurse, who has visited us most weeks, spoke of how a friendly smile, a welcome and the sharing in a meal really does help to turn people's lives around.

Special thanks to our Parish Co-ordinator, April Beynon, for overseeing the Shelter on Tuesday evenings and for filling in the gaps when volunteers have not been able to come. We also thank Russell Morris for assisting April in this role and for taking in the bags of bedding and clothes every Tuesday moning.

"We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked or homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.'